How to Fly The Kodiak Part 13: Crosswind take-off & landing

A detailed look at the theory and technique required to take-off and land the Kodiak 100 in light, medium and strong crosswinds.

There is a lot to consider and my focus is on describing the technique. Normal checklists were followed but not described/edited out for brevity.

The maximum demonstrated crosswind for the Kodiak is 16 knots. What speed of crosswind you will commit to a landing in well very much depend on a range of factors including:

- The field length and elevation
- Obstacles on the approach
- Density altitude
- Aircraft weight & CG
- How gusty the wind is
- Your experience

The result is that you may only feel able to safely land at speeds far less than MDC. For a mountain bush strip that might be as little as 3-4 knots of crosswind component.

Always be prepared to go around!

For a good crosswind calculator use this:

This video outlines a quick 'rule of thumb' method:

There are many excellent articles and videos on crosswind techniques available online - go check them out! The Bold Method has some excellent, easy-to-digest articles.

[randallrocke]

A good presentation of crosswind technique. I will say that in my RW flying days in the 70's there were certainly many pilots who preferred the forward slip approach for crosswinds which you've nicely demonstrated. However, there were also some (myself included) who preferred crabbing all of our crosswinds.

I preferred it because I could fly the plane level most of the way in, holding the center-line with the crab. I would literally cross the threshold still in the crab. Near transition altitude I would swing the nose to center while dropping the upwind wing and touch down on that wheel. It just felt more natural to some of us.

[Scottvdken]

Great video, super helpful. May I ask what the little Wind app is that you are using around 13:30?

[flightdirectorr]

Great tutorial alpine...Crosswind take-off's are always scary for me due to kodiak banking to the left...Also what is this wheather app you have there? Great video!